September 30, 2005

Cup o' Joe Joe Veccio's wife has diedJoe Vecchio's wife, Catherine Susan Vecchio, has passed away at age 46 after a protracted illness. Her long suffering is over. She was a dear woman, and devoted wife and mother.

Joe could really use your help, and support right now. Please visit his site, and Drop Some Love In Joe's Paypal, if you can. Whatever you can give will make a big difference for him and hid children... He's really given SO much for us. Our hearts are with you, Joe-- you're not alone.

Words from Joe:

"She was my wife, the only woman I have ever loved, the only woman I will ever love. She was the most selfless person I have ever known, totally devoted to her children and to me. I don't have the words to express how empty my life will be without her, and the short time we were together were happy days for each of us despite her persistent illness and our poverty. She was the kind of person the world needs more of.

Her spirit still lives on in me. Whenever I hear a good joke I will recall how she would laugh (or groan), whenever I hear a romantic or sad song I will remember how she would put her arms around me. I will still reach out for her late at night, because she will still be with me. And if there is an afterlife I know I will meet her there when my time comes."

Values and integrity"The Republican rap sheet for the past week alone is staggering" - a helpful guide to the rethug hall of shame.

***

Values and integrity, IIBill Bennett extends Republican outreach to the black community by announcing crime would disappear if you aborted all of them.

With the GOP silent on the matter, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats have called on right-wing gambling addict and dominatrix patron Bill Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, to apologize for telling his radio listeners that "you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down."

Meanwhile, there's a vast left-wing conspiracy out to get indicted smegcheese Tom DeLay

DELAY: Ronnie Earle has been district attorney in Travis County since 1976. In 1976 there were no Republicans -- certainly no Republicans other than governor, and he didn't get elected until '78. There were no Republicans. The fights were between conservative Democrats and liberal Democrats. Ronnie Earle does this to all his political enemies. He did it to conservative Democrats. He did it -- and he does it to Republicans. And particularly in my case, he did it in conjunction and working with the Democrat leadership here in Washington, D.C.

CNN's WOLF BLITZER: Well, that's an explosive charge you make, that there was some sort of collusion or conspiracy between Ronnie Earle and Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders in the Congress. What evidence, if any, do you have to back that up?

DELAY: It's very good evidence, that they announced this strategy publicly, they put it on their website and this strategy is in their fund-raising letters.

BLITZER: Who specifically -- who announced this?

DELAY: The DCCC, the Democratic Campaign Committee, run by Chairman Rahm Emanuel.

BLITZER: They announced that they were working with Ronnie Earle to get you an indictment?

DELAY: No, they didn't do that.

BLITZER: What evidence is there they consulted with Ronnie Earle, that they talked to him or they had any dealings with him whatsoever?

DELAY: That evidence is coming. But the point is, they announced the strategy, and it's very funny that two weeks ago, when Ronnie Earle said publicly that I was not part of the investigation, that I hadn't been investigated, and then turns around in two days -- over the weekend -- he now is going to indict me. It is quite obvious, because the Democrats announced this strategy. And we all know how this place works. I'm sure they worked closely with Ronnie Earle on this strategy.

BLITZER: When is the evidence going to be made available? You say it's coming. When are you going to make that evidence available?

DELAY: When it's timely.

BLITZER: What does that mean?

DELAY: When it's timely.

BLITZER: All right. Well, we'll have to wait and see for that evidence.

Cracks seen in GOP front on asscrack DeLayThe united front republicans built to support corrupt scumbag Tom DeLay - indicted on a felony conspiracy charge - showed signs of crumbling yesterday, with conservatives threatening a leadership challenge and some moderates saying they don't think DeLay, facing criminal conspiracy charges in Texas, will ever come back to House leadership.

"He's not going away, but he's not the leader," said Rep. Christopher Shays. "I don't think we're in limbo now. With all due respect, he's moving out of his office."

A baby tortoise with two heads found some days ago on a river bank. According to scientists who inspected the animal, it seems to be perfectly healthy (REUTERS/Claudia Daut). Oh, and corrupt sleazeball Tom DeLay remains indicted, the slimy little fuck.

Blogger did some weird stuff to my posts yesterday. I hope we have better luck today.

Reporter names source, appears before federal grand jury

Neocon playmate Judy Miller is testifying today after receiving permission from her source, Dick 'Chicanery' Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby. Though the White House had long maintained that they had nothing to do with the leak and that any wrongdoer would be fired, Mr Libby retains his job jump-starting the vice president. Fellow traitors Karl Rove, the WH svengali, and incontinent, crabby douchebag Bob Novak remain free.

Vice president Cheney reacts to news that NY Times reporter Miller may spill the beans.****

Depressed and demoralized White House staffers say working at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is “life in a hellhole” as they try to deal with a sullen, moody President whose temper tantrums drive staffers crying from the room and bring the business of running the country to a halt.

“It’s like working in an insane asylum,” says one White House aide. “People walk around like they’re in a trance. We’re the dance band on the Titanic, playing out our last songs to people who know the ship is sinking and none of us are going to make it.”

Increasing reports from the usually tight-lipped staff of the Bush Administration talk of a West Wing dominated by gallows humor, long faces and a depression that has all but paralyzed daily routines.

SEP. 28 7:19 P.M.: The Securities and Exchange Commission, which is examining a suspicious stock sale by sanctimonious sniveller Bill Frist, has upgraded its initial informal inquiry to a formal investigation. The change means the agency can issue subpoenas for documents rather than just requesting them, and that the Senate Majority Leader is in big, big trouble. Just like his counterpart in the House, Tom DeLay, indicted ubersleaze scumbag.

It's slamma time! Even as corrupt scumbag Tom DeLay professed his innocence and his lawyers said they hoped to avoid having him handcuffed, fingerprinted and photographed, {Oh please oh please oh please.... Ed.} potential for fresh controversy surfaced.

Records on file with the Federal Election Commission show that Roy Blunt's political action committee has paid roughly $88,000 in fees since 2003 to a consultant facing indictment in Texas in the same case as the indicted, venal flatulent DeLay.

Fun fact: Mr Blunt has been named as one of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress.::::

A 2 1/2-week-old baby aardvark sniffs the lens of a television camera Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005, at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. The first aardvark to be born at the Omaha, Neb., zoo, is now on display (AP Photo/Nati Harnik). Oh, and Tom DeLay's been indicted.

Conservatives reject Dreier for being "too gay moderate"Then there's poor Dennis Hastert - first his master is indicted, and now he can't even command the respect of his thug colleagues... Conservatives in the GOP caucus erupted in anger over Denny and indicted vulgarian DeLay's pick of David Dreier as figurehead and placeholder, and elected Roy Blunt of Missouri as their majority leader, replacing indicted scumbag Tom DeLay. Blunt will "share" leadership responsibilities with Dreier, a hypocrite and gay-hating gay man.

F*cked fact: In a sign of the despicable indicted DeLay's confidence he will return, he will keep his majority leader office/freezer full of dead puppies in the Capitol rather than vacate it for Blunt.

Brown had a 'testy' exchange with republican Christopher Shays, who said the Fumbling Fuckwit (no, the other one) failed when compared with how America's former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani acted during 9/11.

Brown retorted: "I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans."

"What I wanted you to do is do your job," Shays replied. "Asshat."

Oh, did I mention? Tom DeLay's been indicted! And accused of criminal conspiracy! Mwwwaaaahahahahahahahahaha!

Study says belief in God may contribute to society's dysfunctions"The more people believed in God in the western world, the worse off the society was in numerous aspects."

For example, the United States again is the only prosperous democracy where religion is really popular and we're the only nation among prosperous democracies to have really high murder rates.

We also have the highest juvenile mortality rates. We have pretty much the shortest life spans. We have the highest abortion rates among democracies where abortion is legal. We have the highest sexually transmitted disease infection rates. We have the highest teen pregnancy rates, pretty much across the board we have real, serious social issues that other nations don't seem to be suffering from.

“Mike Brown testified today, under oath, that I did not include Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes in my original disaster declaration request sent to the President on August 28. In fact, that request did include 14 parishes in southeast Louisiana, including Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines.

“Mr. Brown further suggested that I did not order an evacuation of New Orleans until Sunday, Aug. 28. In fact, the evacuation was ordered on the morning of Saturday, August 27. Within 48 hours, 1.3 million citizens – representing more than 90 percent of the region — were safely evacuated in the state’s extraordinarily effective evacuation plan that included early use of contraflow on the interstate system.

“Such falsehoods and misleading statements, made under oath before Congress, are shocking. It clearly demonstrates the appalling degree to which Mr. Brown is either out of touch with the truth or reality.

“Today’s hearing only supports the need for a thorough, non-partisan investigation of this event.”

Cool: a 26-foot long giant squid - "one of the most elusive creatures in the world" - attacks prey hung by a rope (white line at left) at 900 meters deep off the coast of Japan's Bonin islands. (AP Photo/HO, National Science Museum)

The Texas grand jury investigating unethical sleazeball Tom "possible felon" DeLay's state political organization was completing its term Wednesday after demonstrating a recent interest in conspiracy charges that could bring more indictments.

Before the recent conspiracy counts, the investigation was more narrowly focused on the state election code. By expanding the charges to include conspiracy, prosecutors made it possible for the grand jury to bring charges against the slimy waste of O2 DeLay, despicable alleged crook.

September 27, 2005

The Bush ecomnitudeYeah...

Consumer confidence recorded its steepest point drop in 15 years in September, as Americans grappled with the economic uncertainty wrought by hurricanes, soaring gas prices and rising interest rates. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell 18.9 points to 86.6 from a revised reading of 105.5 logged in August. That marked the largest one-month decline in the index since October 1990 and put the measure at its lowest level in two years.

Brownie says his biggest mistake was not assigning blame to Lousiana State gov't even before the hurricane..Mike Brown has gone from being an incompetent moran to a partisan douchebag...Brownie fucked up: trusted Louisiana officials."My biggest mistake was not realizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional." -- Mike "Fired From Horse Shows" Brown. It takes one to know one.Brownie you're doing a heckuva job at starting the blame game.Ex-FEMA head Michael Brown decides it's time to start playing the blame game; remarkably manages to avoid mentioning his own incompetence- headlines at Fark.

Brown's defense drew a scathing response from Rep. William Jefferson, D-La.: "I find it absolutely stunning that this hearing would start out with you, Mr. Brown, laying the blame for FEMA's failings at the feet of the governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans."

Unintentionally funny quote from the article: "I've overseen over 150 presidentially declared disasters. I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it," Brown said.

Honor, integrity, values, blah blah blah Republican state Rep. David Graves, charged with DUI for a second time, claims "legislative immunity" - says his position as a lawmaker means he cannot break the law while the Legislature is at work. Even when caught redhanded.

Scott, why doesn't he just ride his mountain bike down?WH spokes-tool Scott McClellan tries to justify Bush's 7th trip to the Gulf states, coming one day after Preznit Photo-op asked Americans to travel less to conserve energy:

Q: Earlier today, the President said, and encouraged Americans, to not use gasoline unnecessarily, to not take trips that were not absolutely necessary. Would the President curtail his own travel to the region, since he can be in touch by --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think it's important for the President of the United States to travel to the region and get firsthand accounts of the operations and to provide comfort and support {Ick - Ed.} to those who are -- have been affected by this -- by these hurricanes, as well as waste the time of those who are providing the critical support, the critical relief to get these people back up on their feet and to save lives and sustain lives.

Q: If I can just follow up on what Kelly was asking. What the President did for the vast majority of the weekend was get briefings, many of them via videoconference, that he could have easily done here at the White House. Why is that not just the kind of travel that could be curtailed?

MR. McCLELLAN: For the very reasons that I talked about this weekend, and that the President talked about. It's important for the President to look like he's doing somethi get a firsthand look at the operations that were underway.

Q: And what's he doing tomorrow that makes it necessary travel?

Q: Scott, beyond the President's travel tomorrow, what is the President going to do to conserve his own gas use and energy use here by White House staff?

MR. McCLELLAN:Fuck...

... later...

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the American people recognize the importance of what we are working to accomplish in the broader Middle East. Iraq is a key part of establishing a foundation for lasting peace and security. What we're working to do is lay a foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren. And the President has made it very clear that his number one priority is the safety and security of the American people. And we are engaged in a global war. It is a war that is -- that continues. The President said after September 11th, that some would tend to forget. He will not. We are going to stay on the offensive until we win this war, and we're going to work to spread freedom and democracy to address the --

Former Fluffer of Equines, Mostly Arabians FEMA director and next Medal of Honor recipient Michael Brown is continuing to work at the Federal Emergency Management Agency at full pay as a "contractor," with his Sept. 12 resignation not taking effect for two more weeks. During that time, Brown will advise the department on "some of his views on his experience with Katrina," as he transitions out of his job.

The man who was a total disaster at the disaster agency is being paid to advise the department he was fired from? Excuse me?

Update: BuzzFlash notes that "CBS News has changed its account of this three times since we first posted it, from his being rehired, to his being retained as a consultant, to his just being there two more weeks. It's probably because FEMA got political heat and changed ITS story three times."

[S]cientists' drug-safety decisions at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are being second-guessed by a 33-year-old doctor turned stock picker.

At the Office of Management and Budget, an ex-lobbyist with minimal purchasing experience oversaw $300 billion in spending, until his arrest last week.

At the Department of Homeland Security, a well-connected 36-year-old White House aide with minimal experience is poised to take over what many consider the single most crucial post in ensuring that terrorists do not enter the country again.

September 26, 2005

Senate majority leader/sanctimonious Bible-thumping moral-values schmuckwit Bill "visual stimuli" Frist may face a Senate investigation over communications he had with the trustees of his assets that suggest he had a greater measure of control than reported over the blind trust. He faces federal investigations into his HCA stock sale, probes that will likely delve into his telephone and e-mail records, legal experts said.

The SEC's new chairman -- former Republican Representative Chris Cox, who was appointed last month by President Partyhat -- may be reluctant for political reasons to drop the case, even if an initial inquiry turns up no clear sign of illegal insider-trading.

Not so fast: now we're reading that Mr Cox has just recused himself from the investigation.

Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests.

"I would like to say to Cindy Sheehan and her supporters don't be a group of unthinking lemmings. It's not pretty," said the irony-challenged, kool-aid-drinking freetard Mitzy "baaaaaaaaa!" Kenny. The anti-war demonstrations "can affect the war in a really negative way. It gives the enemy hope."

"[I]ts hard to tell whether the storm Bush was trying to ride out was Hurricane Rita, or the enormous storm of criticism aimed at his Iraq policies by anti-war activists who marched past the White House over the weekend." - from this week's Top 10 Conservative Idiots atDU.

Bringing hon ... fuck it. Bringing shame and dishonor to the presidencyYeah. Good thing the grown-ups are back in charge.

The president didn't look all that relieved or happy, however. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, and he seemed cranky and fidgety. A group of reporters and photographers had been summoned by White House handlers to capture a photo op of the commander in chief at his post. Bush stared at them balefully. He rocked back and forth in his chair, furiously at times, asked no questions and took no notes. It almost seemed as though he had regressed into a pissy, petulant two-year-old having a temper tantr resented having to strike a pose for the press.

The president made no effort to play down hurricanes as natural calamities that are unavoidable and hence uncontrollable. Instead, he reinforced the link between hurricanes and terrorism.

"Jeebus. How much more evidence do you need that this guy's a fucking loony?" - Lawrence O'Donnell (paraphrasing), The McLaughlin Group, 9/25/05.

Ummmm, sorry.

O'Donnell: There are few Presidents in our history more lost then that. [Laughter from panel] For him to find this desperate pathway from Katrina, from lives lost because of government mishandling of the hurricane that hit New Orleans... to get a path from there to his war on terror, and somehow link the hurricane to Al Qaeda, is as large as possible flight of mental illness as we've seen in a President.

September 24, 2005

Stuff from the internets100,000 expected to join Cindy Sheehan – and Barb of the Mahablog! - at the anti-war rally in DC today.

Looks like Pope Palpatine made good use of the dark side of the Force.

“1873 dead Americans, $144 billion wasted tax dollars, and an entire country's credibility and goodwill blown to bits around the planet and all they got was another lousy Islamic republic.”

For the love of criminey… Bunnypants’ Texas trip cancelled because it was too sunny. Oh, and the WaComPo is a BushCumHo.

"Christianity has nothing to do with Christ and probably never has, unless Christ was a close-minded, misogynistic, war-loving, imperialistic, aggressive hater of anything he didn't understand or agree with. "

“Why is it reporters like Anderson Cooper (I mean, what's a hurricane without Andy getting blown [cough] down the street?), and all the others out there in the hurricanes, dodging the wind, water, and debris, can't wait to get out there and report the story, yet none of them have the balls to report what is actually going on in Washington?”

Gee. Turns out that holier-than-thou good christian and Senate majority leader Bill Frist, R-Liar, was updated several times about his investments in blind trusts during 2002, the last time two weeks before he publicly denied any knowledge of what was in the accounts, documents show.

September 23, 2005

No Bianca? Well then, let's go to Jeff Gannon...Bad: Bunnypants calls on a planted reporter for a softball question.Worse: She's not there. Really. Enough already.Totally #ucked: This idiot's the president

[Drinky McDumbass] treated White House reporters to a decidedly goofy moment yesterday, when he kept demanding the whereabouts of a correspondent during a mini-press conference at the Pentagon. "Bianca?" Bush inquired, looking down at a list of White House press poolers. "Nobody named Bianca? Well, sorry Bianca's not here. I'll be glad to answer her question."

While Vice President Cheney and other high officials smiled supportively, [Chimpy o'Jimbeam] explained: "Just trying to spread around the joy of asking a question." More official smiles. The President wouldn't give up. "Are you Bianca?" he asked another young woman. "No, I'm not," the woman answered. "Anita - Fox News." Bush responded with determination: "Okay. I was looking for Bianca. I'm sorry." Yesterday, I, too, had trouble locating Bianca, who didn't return my phone call by deadline.